You’ve probably heard that it takes two to tango. And you know what that means:
A successful working relationship requires that each partner works toward a common goal, and understands which tasks they’re individually responsible for so the team can meet that goal.
Effective collaboration can only occur once these two conditions are met.
So what are the responsibilities we expect from your implementation team and ours in terms of developing a successful ERP implementation methodology?
Let’s first deal with roles and responsibilities for the EstesGroup side of our ERP implementation team strategy.
Your enterprise will always enjoy the direct involvement of our Vice President of Professional Services, who will always have one simple but important responsibility: to make sure that your firm becomes an enthusiastic reference for other prospective customers.
We want your project experience to be so good that you run out and tell all your peers about what great work we did. That our ERP implementation methodology broke down all the growth barriers you were experiencing and took all the pain out of your ERP implementation. Over the years, we’ve found that, when we guide our actions by this simple northstar principle, everything else that must happen to create a successful ERP implementation team strategy falls into place.
As part of our ERP implementation team strategy, your implementation will be led by our hand-picked Project Manager on a day-to-day level. The Project plays a very important role. He or she sets the ERP implementation methodology beat to which both your implementation team and ours will march toward success.
A big part of his or her job is keeping your team several steps ahead of the ERP implementation methodology. Doing this allows you to participate more fully in the ERP implementation. In the long run, it also saves time and creates a less ambiguous, more enjoyable. project environment.
Specific responsibilities of your Project Manager include:
Teaching your enterprise how to get the most from our 5-stage methodology
Monitoring methodology adherence
Defining project goals and objectives
Providing regular feedback
Participating in stage reviews
Executing project plans
Finally, our Customer Core Team will execute the mechanics of your implementation. As part of our ERP implementation team strategy, we only select core team members who get a buzz out of problem solving. These are seasoned professionals who think constantly about how to best model your enterprise processes to secure and advance your company’s competitive edge.
Specific responsibilities of your Customer Core Team members include:
Following the methodology plan as led by the Project Manager
Executing all individual tasks with the skill required to maximize the overall implementation
Participating fully in the proof of concept and all subsequent reviews
Preparing and reviewing policies, procedures, and data conversion
Goal #1 in Implementing Your Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) System: How You Think is Everything
We continue to review the 10 Principles of Success and how they’re applied to ERP Implementation now that your company has selected a system with starting with the 1st Principle of Success: How You Think is Everything!
The 10 ERP Principles of Success are:
1. How You Think is Everything!
Always be positive.
Think success not failure.
Be aware of a negative environment.
2. Decide on What Your True Goals Are!
Write down what your specific goals are.
Write down a plan/time line in how to obtain your goals.
3. Take Action!
Goals/Plans are nothing without action.
Don’t be afraid to get started – “Just Do It”, it doesn’t need to be perfect to start, nothing ever is!
4. Never Stop Learning!
Get on-going training so use to better your organization.
5. Persistence and Hard Work Pay-off!
Success is a marathon, not a sprint.
Never give up on the goal/plan that you created in number 3 above, original or revised!
6. Learn How to Analyze the Details!
Get all the facts/input you can – Learn from your mistakes.
7. Focus Your Time And Money!
Don’t let other things and people distract you!
8. Don’t be Afraid to Innovate and Change – Be Different!
Following the way that it’s always been done is a sure way to achieve nothing.
9. Communicate and Deal with People Effectively!
Learn to understand what motivates the people you work with and what they need to be successful. No person is the organization or is indispensable.
10. Be Honest and Dependable!
Take Responsibility – Otherwise 1 through 9 above won’t matter.
As a disclaimer, these 10 Principles of Success come from Investor’s Business Daily (IBD) newspaper aimed at helping stock market investors understand what good growth stocks to invest in, based on what the current overall market conditions are. EstesGroup believes that a company can apply these 10 Principles of Success to ERP systems; that is Implementing, implementing and using them.
How does the 9th Principle of Success apply to:
Choosing the Right ERP System for Your Business?
Principle # 10: Be Honest and Dependable!
Take Responsibility – Otherwise 1 through 9 above won’t matter.
As a disclaimer, these 10 Principles of Success come from Investor’s Business Daily (IBD) newspaper aimed at helping stock market investors understand what good growth stocks to invest in, based on what the current overall market conditions are. EstesGroup believes that a company can apply these 10 Principles of Success to ERP systems; that is selecting, implementing and using them.
How does the 1st Principle of Success apply to? Implementing Your Business ERP System?
Principle # 1: How You Think is Everything!
Always be positive.
Think success not failure.
Be aware of a negative environment.
Let’s face it implementing an ERP system isn’t fun! There are numerous stories of ERP system implementation failures that go on for years and years as well as cost thousands and thousands of dollars over what a company has budgeted for. Implementing an ERP system also can create a negative work environment for the employees, because people don’t like to change. Now that we’ve exposed the primary negatives of ERP implementation, let me point out some of the positives. Implementing an ERP system can be one of the best experiences a company can go through, because it touches every part of the organization. It allows a business to reinvent itself, by closely examining their business processes with the help of software technology (ERP system “Best Practices”). This will ultimately allow a business to be more efficient and effective cutting costs as well as improving revenue for growth.
Once a company has selected/purchased their ERP system they should look for help from the software vendor or a certified partner of the software vendor to implement it. The implementation services you’ve contracted for should help your company lighten the load of having to think (on your own) of how you’re company is going to use “Best Practices” of the ERP system to improve the company operation. The software vendor or certified partner should have clearly provided you with this information through the selection process and now be ready to show you how to accomplish this through the implementation process.
EstesGroup uses a Project Initiation Document (PID) to communicate the detail of how an Epicor ERPimplementation is going to go. On this document it clearly spells out roles/responsibilities of the people involved, critical implementation tasks (i.e. data conversion, value stream scripts, reports, etc.), budgeted hours and the timeline with milestone checkpoints of project dates. Having a detailed ERP Implementation“Project Plan” I believe allows the people involved in the implementation to think positively as well as thinkabout project success Vs failure right from the onset.
As the ERP implementation project evolves, trust me negative thoughts will start creeping in from the team. It’s up to the ERP implementation Project Leader as well as the entire team to fight against this happening. What are some of the ways you can keep thinking positively about your ERP implementation success?
Each weekly ERP implementation meeting, review the positive changes you all have agreed to (in the selection process) that the organization will realize when you “Go Live” on the new system.
Offer your help to one of the team members, if they get behind. They will not only appreciate it, but you’ll most likely learn another area of the business, which increases your value.
Make your weekly ERP implementation meetings fun. Order pizza, if you’re having your meeting at lunch; donuts or bagels if it’s a breakfast get together, change the room you meet in, etc. etc.
Upper management (Project Sponsor) should be involved in each ERP implementation meeting and actively participate to show their support and encouragement.
Upper Management (Project Sponsor) should be tasked with making all of the tough implementation decisions after receiving feedback from the implementation Project Leader and Core team members. This then takes away the hard feelings that the implementation team members may harbor against each other as the project proceeds.
Have the mindset of never giving up and sticking to your “Go Live” date.
If you’d like to learn more tips and techniques in how to make your ERP implementation a very positiveexperience, give EstesGroup a call, we can help! We’ve been providing this type of help to themanufacturing/distribution industry for years. How You Think Is Everything!
Pick up the phone and call 1 888 300 2340 and together we will:
Simplify Technology, Improve Operations, and Gain Efficiencies…
